Clinical outcomes following osteochondral autologous transplantation (OATS)

This study evaluated the clinical outcome in 21 patients (22 knees) undergoing osteochondral autologous transplantation (OATS) in the knee over a 5-year period. Sixteen knees in 15 patients were available for follow-up at an average of 40 months after the procedure. The clinical outcome was analyzed using the IKDC and Knee and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) evaluation forms, a subjective questionnaire, and a clinical examination. At final follow-up, the average KOOS result for pain was 80.6 (range: 56-94), symptoms 53.6 (range: 25-71), function of activities of daily living 93.4 (range: 79-100), function of sports and recreational activities 65.3 (range: 20-100), and quality of life 51.0 (range: 6-88). The average IKDC score was 68.2. On our subjective questionnaire, the average preoperative grade given was 3.1 (range: 1-7) with an improvement at the most recent follow-up to a grade of 8.0 (range: 5-10) (P < .00001). Thirteen (86%) patients reported that they would have the surgery again if they had to make the decision a second time. Age did not correlate with subjective results on the IKDC evaluation (P = .7048) or score difference on our questionnaire (P = .9175). This procedure provides an option for articular resurfacing of the femoral condyles for focal areas of chondral defects with promising results regarding subjective improvement.